I'd been hearing about Mamma Mia for years but had never visited. I mean: it's in Shulin, of all places. (Shulin is the town next to Banqiao on the rail line.) But finally I went and am very glad I did.

The restaurant is run by a quiet but personable Italian, Vincenzo, who is a long-term expat, and his Taiwanese wife. They make the pasta there themselves.

It's a little less than 10 minutes' walk southwest of the Shulin train station.

The Mandarin version of the menu can be seen in the photos on the Google Maps page for the restaurant (you may need to search for "Mama Mi Ya" rather than "Mamma Mia" to find it). Figure on at least NT$300-NT$400 per person. I think the food is well worth the price.

Coming after an NT$8300 meal at Il Mercato, Mamma Mia may indeed seem anticlimactic. (I can't speak from personal experience on this one.) I don't know if most people would want to make a special trip all the way from Taipei. But if you happen to be in Banqiao, Sanxia, or Yingge, it might well be worth making a stop in Shulin.